The league’s brain trauma epidemic needs radical solutions. If recent changes aren’t protecting players then we need to rethink the game’s fundamentalsOne of the dumbest storylines of the NFL preseason was Antonio Brown and his banned helmet. The whole saga stunk of a marketing ploy, a soap opera built for the Instagram age. Yet beneath all that fluff, there was a topic worthy of discussion. If the league is serious about reducing traumatic brain injuries, should players wear helmets at all?

The biggest misconception about football helmets is that they prevent concussions. They don’t. Helmets protect the skull. Concussions are caused when the brain moves inside the skull; helmets do little if anything to prevent the brain from rattling inside the skull. Helmets are part of the problem, not part of the solution.